1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a synthetic sweetening compound which resembles in both structure and flavor the naturally occurring phyllodulcin, a rare, intensely sweet isocoumarin derivative.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present controversy over the healthfulness of dietary sweeteners underscores the need for a harmless, noncariogenic, intensely sweet, additive for dietary foods and pharmaceuticals. Some naturally sweet products of botanical origin, or derivatives prepared from such extracted products are known to have saccharin-like sweetness (J. E. Hodge et al., in "Symposium: Sweeteners," Inglett, G. E., ed., Avi Publishing Co., Westport, Conn., 1974, Chapter 20), but candidate compounds often have structures too complex for facile synthesis and are not isolated economically from agricultural sources. These limitations make it unlikely that a sweetener such as phyllodulcin [H. Arakawa et al., Chem. Ind. (London) 671 (1959) and Asahina et al., Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 64: 1252-1256 (1931)], an isocoumarin derivative isolated from Hydrangea thunbergii Sieb. and consumed as a tea-like decoction in Japan will be of commercial value, even though it is reported to be either 400 [M. Yamato et al., Chem. Pharm. Bull. 25: 695-699 (1977)] or 600-800 times sweeter than sucrose [Suzuki et al., Agric. Biol. Chem. 41(4): 719-720 (1977)]. A more likely source of suitable sweeteners will be synthetic compounds which are easily prepared and which contain the specific structural features of the natural model required for expression of sweetness.